
Li Bai (701 - 762)
Phoenixes once roamed
on the Phoenix Terrace ground.
They're gone: the Terrace's empty,
the river keeps rolling on unbound.
Solitary paths of the Wu② Palace
lie buried under flowers and weeds;
Aristocrats of Jin② in the ancient mound.
The three peaks③
rise halfway into the blue sky;
The two rivers④
split where the Egret Isle is found.
The sun can be darkened with clouds:
Losing sight of Chang An⑤ makes me feel down.
登金陵鳳凰台
李白(701 - 762)
鳳凰台上鳳凰遊,
鳳去台空江自流。
吳宮花草埋幽徑,
晉代衣冠成古丘。
三山半落青天外,
二水中分白鷺洲。
總為浮雲能蔽日,
長安不見使人愁。
① Former name of the city of Nanjing.
② Both the Wu and Jin Dynasties had their capitals in Nanjing.
③ A large mountain called "Sam-shan" meaning literally "three peaks" along the Yangtze River on southwest of the city of Nanjing.
④ The Qinhuai River meets the Yangtze River in Nanjing where they split around the Egret Isles.
⑤ The capital in Tang Dynasty, it is now the city of Xi'an.
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